Molded Power-Supply Module With Bridge Inductor Over Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Power-supply modules with inductors mounted outside the package or side-by-side with other components suffer from inefficient layout, leading to larger size, reduced heat transfer, higher power losses, and lower efficiency, as well as increased assembly complexity and vibration issues.
Innovation Solution
The power-supply module design incorporates inductors mounted inside the package and over other components, with thermally conductive materials and wide, rigid leads to enhance heat transfer and reduce size, while maintaining efficient layout and reducing assembly complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the inductor is mounted outside the package or side-by-side with other components, then the assembly is easier to manufacture, but the module size increases and heat transfer efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The inductor is mounted over other components within the package, nesting components vertically rather than placing them side-by-side. This nested arrangement allows the inductor to be positioned above capacitors, transformers, or circuit boards, utilizing the vertical space within the package to reduce the overall module footprint while maintaining ease of assembly through standardized mounting procedures
2Ease of manufacture
If the inductor is mounted outside the package or side-by-side with other components, then the assembly is easier to manufacture, but heat transfer efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The inductor is nested over heat-generating components such as capacitors, transformers, or circuit boards within the package. This positioning allows the inductor to act as a heat sink, conducting heat away from these components through thermal contact, thereby improving overall heat transfer efficiency while maintaining a compact assembly structure that is easy to manufacture
Solution Approach 2:
Thermally conductive materials are introduced as intermediaries between the inductor and the components beneath it. These materials enhance the thermal coupling, facilitating more efficient heat transfer from heat-generating components through the inductor to the package housing or external heat sinks, while the overall nested structure remains simple to assemble
3Device complexity
If the inductor is mounted outside the package or side-by-side with other components, then the layout is simpler, but power losses increase and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The nested vertical arrangement of the inductor over other components minimizes the length of electrical interconnections and reduces the number of connection points required. This compact configuration decreases parasitic inductance and resistance in the wiring, thereby reducing power losses while maintaining a layout that is actually simpler in terms of component placement and interconnection routing
Solution Approach 2:
The inductor is combined with other components in a single integrated package structure, merging multiple functions into one compact unit. This integration reduces the overall complexity of the layout by eliminating separate mounting areas and simplifies the electrical interconnections, while the close proximity of components reduces parasitic losses through shorter current paths
4Volume of stationary object
If the inductor is mounted outside the package or side-by-side with other components, then the module size is larger, but assembly complexity and vibration issues are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The nested vertical arrangement consolidates multiple components into a compact vertical stack within the package, significantly reducing the overall module size. Despite this compact configuration, the assembly complexity is reduced because the inductor can be directly mounted over underlying components using standardized procedures, and the entire assembly can be packaged as a single integrated unit, simplifying handling and installation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration results in a smaller, more efficient, and reliable power-supply module with improved heat dissipation, reduced vibration, and increased output-power rating, suitable for quiet and low-clearance applications.
Implementation Method 1
thermally conductive materials and wide, rigid leads to enhance heat transfer
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of a power-supply module includes a molded package, power-supply components disposed within the package, and an inductor disposed within the package and over the power-supply components. For example, for a given output-power rating, such a power-supply module may be smaller, more efficient, and more reliable than, and may run cooler than, a power-supply module having the inductor mounted outside of the package or side-by-side with other components. And for a given size, such a module may have a higher output-power rating than a module having the inductor mounted outside of the package or side-by-side with other components.